PMC offers healing in Ross Township

Friday

Sep 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM

More than a month after the shooting in Ross Township, a night of healing and outreach by the Pocono Medical Center drew local residents together to reflect on the process of recovery in the wake of tragedy.

RICARDO MORALES

More than a month after the shooting in Ross Township, a night of healing and outreach by the Pocono Medical Center drew local residents together to reflect on the process of recovery in the wake of tragedy.

Held at the Pocono Community Library in Brodheadsville on Thursday night, medical center employees offered anecdotes from their personal lives and experiences working in the health field to provide advice on overcoming emotional trauma.

The Rev. Sherrie Sneed, chaplain at PMC, related stories from her time working with the Red Cross in the aftermath of a tornado in Alabama. Describing the link between faith and spirituality, she said many people use their spirituality to dispel grief.

"A lot of times, we view crisis as a negative," she said, adding that "in and of itself, (crisis) is a pivotal moment, a chance to change direction."

"We consciously choose what endures, what survives," she said. "We have not only the privilege, but the choice to select our capacity to love and to heal."

Joseph Kearns, program therapist for the behavioral health unit at Pocono Medical Center, drew on life experience with his father, a World War II veteran and recipient of a Purple Heart. He said people can choose what message to tell their children in the aftermath of a difficult event.

Kearns's father, who never told the truth of how he earned his Purple Heart, would instead recount a humorous story about how he fell off a bar stool in Ireland when the enemy dropped a bomb nearby.

"Of all the gifts he gave us, (that story) was the best," Kearns said, adding that the positive anecdote allowed him to grow up outside the shadow of World War II. "Take that message and go," he said, referring to how people can pass along the same positivity to their children.

He also spoke about how, for many people, emotional trauma starts with information relayed over the phone.

"Think about the phone call you never want to get," he said. "For all of us, we will someday receive a phone call that's unexpected, and it changes the course of our lives."

The victims of the Ross Township shooting were heroes, yet heroism is "not only what people do in the face of danger, but what men and women do afterwards," he added.

"Turn to others if you need help, as well as show up to help others," Kearns said.

The Pleasant Valley School District chorus sang "God Bless America" at the event, and Kathleen Kuck, president and CEO of the PMC, said anyone who needs help should feel welcome to find it at the hospital.